Movie Preview: Oldboy

With the lack of quality films coming from Hollywood, no wonder many of my friends have turned to Asia for inspiration. There are the Kung-Fu movies, such as Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, however Asian cinema is much more than that.

Take Infernal Affairs, Ringu (The Ring), or Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance. I’ll throw Battle Royale (one of the worst films ever made) in there just cause it was different. No wonder Hollywood is looking East. Hong Kong hit, Infernal Affairs is going to be remade, American style this summer with Martin Scorsese at the helm and Jack Nicholson as the lead, replacing all of the Asian characters with Irish-American gangsters. Sigh.

The latest film set to be pimped remade by Hollywood is Oldboy, Chan-wook Park’s revenge thriller. In the movie, a man is imprisoned for 15 years and upon his release, he must figure out how who is captor was, and he only has 5 days. During these 5 days, this former businessman, husband, and father extracts revenge (Kill Bill style) on all who were responsible for his incarceration.

Okay, the plot doesn???t sound like much, but I’ve been assured by some friends that this movie is off the hook, so of course, I’m eagerly awaiting the North American DVD release on August 23rd.

Recognized as an international music tastemaker by industry insiders
and musicians "in the know," Stone (aka Winston Ford) is the creator
of The Couch Sessions, the premier online destination for alternative
urban music and culture.